mikeweil

Thanks for that recommendation - just ordered a copy. The Portrait album ranks among the 100 best jazz LPs of all time for some people ...

You're right - there have been a few, too few reissues of Dot albums by Universal.

Thanks for the kind words - I will try to add a new session every other day.

I just started a Cal Tjader blog to cover the discographical info I accumulated over the years - will take a bit before I typed everything into the BRIAN database ...

They were one of the best bass/drums teams around. Playing sophisticated stuff at one moment and swinging like hell the next.

Get well soon! And don't let the physiotherapy bug you - it sure helps. Ashiko drumming with your left hand only? Nice ...

Yes - details here

Read about it on the down beat website - what do you think about the Columbia albums? Is this worth getting? AFAIK Ray Bryant and Kenny Burrell are among the sidemen.

I hope Palmetto records that band!

Shocking - just a year aolder than me! That photo is shocking, too - she looks at least ten years older ... must have gone through many things. I liked her much more in the Antonioni movie than in the Last Tango ... too bad actresses are pigeonholed that much. R.I.P.

That deal is even better as the copy of the Lausanne concert I have is a CDR a friend gave me ..

Found a new copy for a little more than 20 bucks ...

So the material from the Qwest CD is included? I could be tempted then ...

Found a used copy in very good condition at a low price - looking forward to this.

Nice cover!

The number of alternate takes included will be rather limited: Bluesology and Woody'n'You from the Fontessa session in stereo (the stereo mix is a sonic desaster, as I remembered) are confirmed, let's wait and see if anything else turns up.

I have an LP issue they did in the 1980's - there never was another reissue, I believe, and original pressings will be hard to find. Just wanted to mention it in case ...

The Bennie Green is available on Fresh Sound / Blue Moon BMCD 1618: http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/swings_the_blues-cd-368.html http://www.amazon.com/Swings-Blues-Bennie-Green/dp/B00005RGAE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1296425923&sr=1-1

That could have been me 30 years ago with a different haircut ...

The price I get for the download is € 66,64 .... no deal for me.

Early 70s, actually. Their first after returning from Apple, iirc? Yessir - and it's the funkiest album they ever did. John Lewis' comping on the first two tracks would have served the James Brown horn section perfectly. Thou sayeth thus that "Plastic Dream" is worth hearing? Just passed it by in a local sale this week... will return Saturday to check if it's still around! Expect to hear a harpsichord on two tracks, and make sure your equipment can deal with a crotale or finger cymbals as a ride cymbal substitute - great speaker test. If they sound cluttered ....... Besides Space, it's the wierdest MJQ album, I never heard anybody create drum set grooves like those Connie Kay plays on the opening track. Masterful. And funny, if you can understand John Lewis' musical humor ...

I'd say it depends. If you want the more swingin' side of the MJQ, you can go for European Concert, which is one of their best live albums IMHO, and see whether you like the more restrained, arranged-sounding stuff - John Lewis's arranging/composing skills dominate the studio work, that's clear. I think his balance of written and improvised parts was perfect. Some of it is closer to Third Stream, some of it is rather straightahead. There's a lot of variety through the varying tempos and grooves and the different guests. For those who prefer a more blowin' approach and harder swinging, I'd say take a listen first.

Not sure about the jazz Dialogue - why shouldn't they include this? You're correct about the others. Michael Cuscuna told me some alternates were stored at the end of the LP master tapes, that's how they survived. So far he found alternates of Bluesology and Woody'n'You from the Fontessa sessions. Early 70s, actually. Their first after returning from Apple, iirc? Yessir - and it's the funkiest album they ever did. John Lewis' comping on the first two tracks would have served the James Brown horn section perfectly.

Agreed - I don't think you can't get a real group sound just through the mix. The room makes the mix. Many instruments will sound real good only when you record them in the proper room - like congas. Close miking of congas sound terrible to my ears, and produces a sound totally different from what the player hears.

http://www.mosaicrecords.com/lastchance.asp